Multimedia ARTIST
Alejandro IV Barragán discovered multimedia and communications at the age of seventeen. His first job was at a national television channel. Alejandro started as video editor assistant then evolved to an editor then producer where he learned his passion
for storytelling. At the time he produced a variety of television shows ranging from cultural topics to sports and entertainment.
BIO
After 5 years he became an independent freelancer and started to create his own products and acquire a portfolio of clients.
Alejandro moved to the United States where he later graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a bachelor’s in Journalism and Communication with an emphasis in photography as well as in Literature and Arts. In Alaska he established a photography studio. As a photographer Alejandro has traveled extensively in United States and abroad. In 2001 he created Danzas Mexicanas, an ongoing project that focus on studies, articles and short documentaries about origins of Mexican culture. The project is primarily researched and produced by Alejandro. Over the years the project has gained popularity, and collaborations with professionals in the areas of anthropology and archeology have made the project bigger and relevant.
Among his achievements and awards, in 2005 Alejandro won best picture in the international film festival Snow Dance with a documentary “Look again: An impressionistic interpretation of the site-specific performance project.” Work took him to New York where he opened a studio in Brooklyn. In 2014 Alejandro founded Inner City Times, a cultural Hispanic organization. He became a cultural promoter working
with nonprofits, artists and performers. He organized monthly events, photography contests and writing workshops among other activities. He became a TV producer at Bric Mass media, and Inner City Times became a monthly TV show created from the cultural events organized at Alejandro’s Brooklyn Studio and sponsored venues in Manhattan. The events were structured as talent shows where minorities found a
needed space to express and share their cultures and stories, art, poetry, and work. Institutions like the publishing house of Mexico State sent books as donations. Inner City Times became an initiative valued and sponsored by different communities In New York City. In 2017 Inner City Times received a grant from the New York Citizen Committee. In addition, it published two magazines networking artists between New York, Chicago and Mexico. As an artist Alejandro has done art exhibits, video and documentary photography of his
research work. He also creates installations. In 2018 Alejandro moved to Portland, Oregon. In 2020 he was invited to do an installation at the Portland Armory. In 2020 Alejandro launched a new project called Propulsion Network in Portland. Propulsion Network is similar to Inner City Times in that it focuses on offering and opening spaces for artists with the goal to influence, inform and organize their communities though art. 2022 became a grantee of the Oregon Community Foundation and creates the first 2023 Festival of Day of the Death in Oregon creating over twenty presentations of Photography, printmaking, art installations and interactive programs to work with elementary and middle schools. The project features International films like “ Macario” , one of the most important films in Mexican culture around Day of the death nominated for an academy award in 1960. The film was screened in Hollywood Theater with the help of Cineteca Nacional of Mexico. At the same time in collaboration with Cinemax Experimental Mexican film festival Show a selection of films during the closing of Lucha Libre Event of the same festival. Oregonmuertos.org
Recent Projects:
Propulsion Network Studios and headquarters are located in downtown Portland. The mission of this cultural organization is to support and promote local artists and emerging writers among other programs for youth in disadvantage. It also offers forums to create dialogues that explore the present and future needs of our communities. 2021 Editor and camera direction of “Sabor Artico,“ a documentary film thanks to a grant from the LAtino Public Broadcasting about the Latino diaspora and their adaptation and influence in the cultural and economic fabric of contemporary Alaska. This film was feature on the selection of LA New Filmmakers film festival 2022 and streamign in PBS Voices since March 4 2024.
Currently Alejandro has a solo show in the museum of Architectural Heritage center of Portland. A preview of his book project Echoes of Transitions. Also is working on three documentaries in addition to his photography work. Dance of the Bulls is based on the evolution of the distinctive cultural aspects between three generations of a rural town. Spirits of the South is an introspective of the history and rapid development of the economic drive of the Mezcal and industry and its impact on the environment and socioeconomics. Nepantla a chronological history of the Traditional celebration of Día de Muertos. Alejandro’s most recent photography series is Liminal Spaces, Cycles and Deconstructing America, which presents portraits of construction workers an exploration of the creation and replication of business models that favor production over quality, waste and energy management.
